Majority of missing Australians were near Gyirong Port minutes before impact. Rescuers say the area is now destroyed, covered in metres of silt and debris
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It has been almost a week since the catastrophic floods in Nepal and not even a vehicle can get into the area where the majority of missing Australians were last heard from.
Gyirong Port, the border area between Nepal and China, was the first to be hit. Images from Chinese rescue teams who have managed to get in by helicopter or hiking show the area has been completely flattened. The immigration building, the power lines, everything, just wiped away.
News that phone connectivity to the area was back on spread quickly on Monday around the families of lost Australians who have come to Kathmandu to wait. In WhatsApp groups and over Facebook, they shared any updates they got.
One family member, who did not want to be named, told the Guardian she had been trying to ring her husband all morning after she heard the phone line was back up. He did not answer.
“The embassies aren’t helping,” she said.
The total number of Australians missing in the disaster rose to 43 on Monday, and at least 33 of them were understood to be near Gyirong Port just before the impact.
The 15 Australians with the Himalaya Glacier Company, 11 travelling with the Isha Foundation, six from Kailash Journeys and one from Kathmandu Holiday Tours and Travel were all near the border – many of them arrived at the immigration building just 10 minutes before the flood hit.
Sujan Wasti, the head of Kailash Journeys’ Nepal operations, said the last he heard from the group was at 7.30 am, when the guide touched base to say they were coming back. They were scheduled to land in Kathmandu on Thursday, with many of them flying home from the capital.
“In the area, the rescue has been done,” he said. “Now, it will just be about collecting the bodies and bringing them [home].”
Since last Wednesday, Wasti has sent teams up the Trishuli River to look for any signs of the missing trekkers. They have twice flown over the border by helicopter, and have visited local hospitals to see if anyone has shown up.
“We are searching every place we can, but still we have not found anyone,” he said. “There is still no sign of them.
“Along the border, it was only dead bodies. If they are alive, it will be a miracle.”
China is coordinating the search and rescue effort in the area. As of Monday morning, crews reopening the highway towards the port on the Tibet side had 1.15km left of road to clear and reconstruct.
